Troubadour Magma Special Edition 2011 - Cascade Hop - Brouwerij De Musketiers

wagenvolks

Texas

4.33/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Review #1200!

750ml orange-foiled bottle into a Brooklyn tulip.

Troubadour's Magma 2011 Cascade pours with a hazy, tangerine-tea hue. A bit dingy in color, with a hint of carbonation fueling a well-retained tuft of eggshell-khaki head. Superb lacing, with sticky webs coating the inside of the glass. Juicy, insanely tropical fruity aroma dripping with notes of sugared orange slices, mango, pineapple juice, and pear. The belgian yeast is subtle in its spiciness, which I appreciate. Malts are mild, with some bread and cereal notes.

The spice is amplified in the flavor, and so are the hops. Gone is the juicy sweet fruitiness, and instead the Cascade hops hit with bitter, floral resins and woody pine. A bit soapy, but it's forgivable, especially since the hop flavors are still big enough to linger long after each sip. Malts provide a delectable balance--grainy and slightly sweet. Mouthfeel is crisp and well-carbonated with tight, tiny bubbles coursing throughout the sticky, medium body. All in all, a delicious beer and one of the better examples of the style...West Coast meets Belgian IPA. More, please.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2011 04:22:32 | More by wagenvolks

ejimhof

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -22.5%

05-05-2013 22:58:26 | More by ejimhof

randylangford

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +3.4%

04-26-2013 23:26:47 | More by randylangford

Lebby

3.25/5  rDev -16%

01-20-2013 14:13:40 | More by Lebby

Ted

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

01-06-2013 23:10:04 | More by Ted

Twifiter

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

10-15-2012 19:58:17 | More by Twifiter

Stoutsman

Kansas

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

10-15-2012 17:34:46 | More by Stoutsman

KKB

Massachusetts

3.33/5  rDev -14%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Looks like a dark champagne, some combination of yellow brown, and orange. The head rises significantly before and has nice retention before receding down to a slight residual head.

S - Almost nothing honestly. Very very mild, maybe a little bit of caramel/grapefruit? Can barely even smell the hops.

T - Really it's not bad. It starts off having a belgian yeast taste to it, then a bit of caramel hoppiness, then a peppery dry finish. I don't know, it's light but it almost has a bit of a stale taste to it. It tastes kind of nice, but really not great, kind of regret buying it.

M - Light to medium body, slight carbonation, but somewhat flat overall. You can definitely get the alcoholic warmth as it goes down though, which is nice.

O - This isn't a great beer really, it's a belgian triple India Pale Ale and god knows what that even means. It's not awful really, it's just kind of flat and bland. It's has "special edition 2011 Cascade Hop" written on it and it is an IPA and I'm wondering if this has been aged for a year? If so why? Ya gotta drink those IPAs fast ya know? Well, if someone set this in front of me I wouldn't say no, but I would not buy this beer again unless under duress.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2012 03:44:10 | More by KKB

cwd

Kentucky

4/5  rDev +3.4%

07-28-2012 19:31:29 | More by cwd

superspak

Michigan

4.1/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle into chalice, bottled 8/4/2011. Pours hazy golden orange color with a nice 2 finger fairly dense off white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice soapy lacing clings to the glass, with a good amount of carbonation streaming up. Aromas of huge grapefruit, orange peel, lemon zest, herbal, pine, mango, peach, pepper, pear, earth, honey, yeast spiciness, and a touch of alcohol. Nice aromas with good balance and complexity; intense and a bit resinous feeling. Taste of big grapefruit, orange, lemon zest, mango, pineapple, pine, pear, herbal, floral, pepper, honey, bread, earth, and yeast spices. Good amount of spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of citrus, pine, tropical fruit, pepper, pear, earth, and yeast spices on the finish for a good bit. Nice flavor balance and complexity; with a nice malt/hop flavor to peppery bitterness balance with no cloying flavors at all. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a fairly creamy, slick, and slightly sticky mouthfeel that is good. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is an excellent Belgian IPA. Very big Cascade hop presence; with a good balance of Belgian complexity and fruitiness in the background. Very smooth to sip on for 9% as well. Highly enjoyable offering.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2012 04:26:40 | More by superspak

XicanoBeerRun

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Reddish orange with a yeasty complexion. Poured into a snifter with little foam, yet the carbonation was strong when drinking. Smelled a bit sweet and slightly boozy. I picked up on peach jam notes.

It had a nice warm malty aftertaste. Slight hop bitterness. Hops were not as strong for what I would expect; however, this bottle was from 2011. Faint butterscotch flavor.

Overall, this was a good beer, but not outstanding. I think it may have been better fresher.

I’ll have another because I have another bottle in the reserves.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2012 20:39:55 | More by XicanoBeerRun

theleechster

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +3.4%

07-16-2012 15:33:44 | More by theleechster

sammo

Kansas

4/5  rDev +3.4%

07-07-2012 02:27:51 | More by sammo

UCLABrewN84

California

3.98/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Lucky Baldwin's Delirium Cafe in Sierra Madre, CA.

Pours a slightly murky honey orange with a foamy off-white head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, grain, yeast, and some citrus zest hop aromas. Taste is much the same with a medium level of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is tasty and easy to drink.

Serving type: on-tap

07-04-2012 19:42:47 | More by UCLABrewN84

admonster00

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

06-23-2012 02:40:40 | More by admonster00

Havion383

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

05-25-2012 15:53:48 | More by Havion383

BruceBruce

Texas

4/5  rDev +3.4%

05-22-2012 23:56:45 | More by BruceBruce

macrosmatic

Florida

4/5  rDev +3.4%

04-30-2012 18:55:46 | More by macrosmatic

elNopalero

Texas

3.88/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

An IPA from a Belgian brewery… does this make it a Belgo-PA? Or a IPAlgo? Hm.

This poured with a golden-hued yellow-orange color. Not much aroma, deceptively so as there was such a fantastic taste! Nice hop bite with a great flash of Cascade flavor. I enjoyed this one. A welcomed treat.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2012 04:58:40 | More by elNopalero

Tyrawlings

Ohio

4/5  rDev +3.4%

03-12-2012 14:40:32 | More by Tyrawlings

Texasfan549

Texas

3/5  rDev -22.5%

02-27-2012 05:55:53 | More by Texasfan549

Thorpe429

Illinois

3/5  rDev -22.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On tap at Rustico in Alexandria. Served in a tulip.

Pours a very, very hazy peach color with a two-finger white head and a bit of lacing on the way down. Fairly ugly. The nose has some slight Cascade hops and a bit of Belgian yeast, though there's something off. Here, it smells and subsequently tastes fairly hoppy, but more in the way of something that's been overly dry-hopped, or some sludge that still has hop-pellet remnants in it.

Nothing too impressive. Medium body with moderate bitterness. I couldn't get into this one.

Serving type: on-tap

02-03-2012 12:11:16 | More by Thorpe429

allengarvin

Texas

4.3/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I picked this up for New Year's eve, but we never got to it at the party. Trying it now in a Val Dieu wide-mouthed chalice. The color is orange, rather hazy, with a very frothy large head. The nose is appropriately hoppy, citrus-tinged, with a ripe fruity underlay. The initial taste is very hoppy and very highly bitter--more bittering hops than many American brewers would use, in fact. The citrus hop flavor gives way after a moment to a delicious banana fruitiness, with a light dusting of medicinal phenols. The alcohol is well-hidden, and the body delightfully light and effervescent.

This is not a real complex beer, but it's well-crafted and quite drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2012 03:43:04 | More by allengarvin

zonker17

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

01-12-2012 22:01:20 | More by zonker17

csiewert

Oregon

4/5  rDev +3.4%

01-11-2012 18:51:27 | More by csiewert